Who Knew You Should Clean A Washing Machine!

Most people would rather buy the new model than go through the process of taking a washing machine apart, cleaning it, and crossing their fingers they put it back together the right way. The great news is THERE IS A SOLUTION! And the solution isn’t expensive or time consuming, said our friends at Houston Texas Painters, and can save money in the long run. This is what the pros do, so I was all ears.

White Vinegar is the first thing you will need. It’s available at grocery stores everywhere. It’s right on the aisle vinegar is found in, next to all the other vinegars one would use to cook with. You will need 8 cups of this, which is 64 fluid ounces (FL. OZ.). I was able to get a gallon of the distilled (I was recommended distilled) white vinegar for under 3 dollars at my local Walmart.

A gallon is 128 FL. OZ., so you will have plenty leftover (which is great because you can use white vinegar to clean all kinds of stuff like your coffee maker just by running a full pot of white vinegar through once, and then running two pots of water through twice after). Now that you have the first ingredient to the solution, here is the next:

Baking Soda. This found (most likely) on the same aisle you would find the white vinegar. You will need 2 cups (16 OZ.) of this. I use “Arm and Hammer”. You can buy a pound (LB.) of this stuff for less than 1 dollar. A pound of baking soda is 3 ½ cups, so you will have some leftover (toss the leftovers in the box, with the top open, in your refrigerator to freshen it up).

Step #1 Fill up the washing machine to it’s fullest capacity. I was recommended towels. They fill up a lot of space and scrub the washer while spinning. Kill two birds with one stone.

Step #2 Set the washer to the hottest setting available.

Step #3 Using a measuring cup, measure a full cup of white vinegar. (8 oz.)

Step #4 Turn on the washer with the lid open so you can watch the water rise.

Step #5 When the washer is about a ¼ of the way full of water, pour the white vinegar in, followed by 3 more cups as the water rises. Total: 4 cups of white vinegar.

Step #6 Allow the washer to fill up the rest of the way. Close the lid and let the cycle begin.

Step #7 After about 10minutes, open the lid,stopping the cycle, and, use the measuring cup to measure 1 cup (8 oz.) of the baking soda and add to the machine. Close the lid continuing its cycle. Total: 1 cup of baking soda.

Step #8 Let it run it for about 10 more minutes. Then open the lid, stopping the cycle. Allow the water to sit there and soak for 25-35 minutes.

Step # 9 Shut the lid, restarting the cycle, and allow it to cycle all the way through until it is completely done washing.

Step #10 Once done: REPEAT ALL THE ABOVE STEPS.

After the 2nd time, remove the wet towels and place them aside. Pour some of the white vinegar onto the cloth and wipe the inside of the machine with it. There will be places some of the residue wasn’t reached like under the top rim of the washer, around the rim of the gaskets, (rubber looking things) and the inside top of the agitator (the thing in the middle that spins, if there is one). Run the washer on the hottest setting by itself one time to clean up any of the leftover white vinegar and baking soda. Then your machine is clean! You can now place the towels back in the washer using detergent and softener like normal.

I found this works really well. It made my laundry even seem cleaner than normal after trying this. I pick a weekend before two holidays, so I can recall when it’s due. Weekends before Thanksgiving and Memorial Day are mine, but however you remember it’s up to you.

Hope this helps. It’s basically less than 4 dollars a year. It can stretch the life of your washing machine. And the best news is both white vinegar and baking soda have little to no negative impact concerning the environment.

Most people would rather buy the new model than go through the process of taking a washing machine apart, cleaning it, and crossing their fingers they put it back together the right way. The great news is THERE IS A SOLUTION! And the solution isn’t expensive or time consuming, said our friends at Houston Texas Painters, and can save money in the long run. This is what the pros do, so I was all ears.

White Vinegar is the first thing you will need. It’s available at grocery stores everywhere. It’s right on the aisle vinegar is found in, next to all the other vinegars one would use to cook with. You will need 8 cups of this, which is 64 fluid ounces (FL. OZ.). I was able to get a gallon of the distilled (I was recommended distilled) white vinegar for under 3 dollars at my local Walmart.

A gallon is 128 FL. OZ., so you will have plenty leftover (which is great because you can use white vinegar to clean all kinds of stuff like your coffee maker just by running a full pot of white vinegar through once, and then running two pots of water through twice after). Now that you have the first ingredient to the solution, here is the next:

Baking Soda. This found (most likely) on the same aisle you would find the white vinegar. You will need 2 cups (16 OZ.) of this. I use “Arm and Hammer”. You can buy a pound (LB.) of this stuff for less than 1 dollar. A pound of baking soda is 3 ½ cups, so you will have some leftover (toss the leftovers in the box, with the top open, in your refrigerator to freshen it up).

Step #1 Fill up the washing machine to it’s fullest capacity. I was recommended towels. They fill up a lot of space and scrub the washer while spinning. Kill two birds with one stone.

Step #2 Set the washer to the hottest setting available.

Step #3 Using a measuring cup, measure a full cup of white vinegar. (8 oz.)

Step #4 Turn on the washer with the lid open so you can watch the water rise.

Step #5 When the washer is about a ¼ of the way full of water, pour the white vinegar in, followed by 3 more cups as the water rises. Total: 4 cups of white vinegar.

Step #6 Allow the washer to fill up the rest of the way. Close the lid and let the cycle begin.

Step #7 After about 10minutes, open the lid,stopping the cycle, and, use the measuring cup to measure 1 cup (8 oz.) of the baking soda and add to the machine. Close the lid continuing its cycle. Total: 1 cup of baking soda.

Step #8 Let it run it for about 10 more minutes. Then open the lid, stopping the cycle. Allow the water to sit there and soak for 25-35 minutes.

Step # 9 Shut the lid, restarting the cycle, and allow it to cycle all the way through until it is completely done washing.

Step #10 Once done: REPEAT ALL THE ABOVE STEPS.

After the 2nd time, remove the wet towels and place them aside. Pour some of the white vinegar onto the cloth and wipe the inside of the machine with it. There will be places some of the residue wasn’t reached like under the top rim of the washer, around the rim of the gaskets, (rubber looking things) and the inside top of the agitator (the thing in the middle that spins, if there is one). Run the washer on the hottest setting by itself one time to clean up any of the leftover white vinegar and baking soda. Then your machine is clean! You can now place the towels back in the washer using detergent and softener like normal.

I found this works really well. It made my laundry even seem cleaner than normal after trying this. I pick a weekend before two holidays, so I can recall when it’s due. Weekends before Thanksgiving and Memorial Day are mine, but however you remember it’s up to you.

Hope this helps. It’s basically less than 4 dollars a year. It can stretch the life of your washing machine. And the best news is both white vinegar and baking soda have little to no negative impact concerning the environment.